Vinva Investment Management Ltd Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 221,632 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,980 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.8% of Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $20,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.